WATERFORD MILLS – The Wawasee High School baseball season started off with a bang, and Bethany Christian couldn’t stop the onslaught in the Warriors’ 23-2, five-inning win Tuesday. The Warriors’ first four hitters in the top of the first all had base hits off Bruin starter Jonathan Yousey. Rylan Kuhn and Jake Crousore singled, Jamie Slabaugh doubled to drive in both his teammates, then Jacob Garcia singled to left, moving Slabaugh to third. Slabaugh scored on Spencer Prescott’s single to make it 3-0. Wawasee added three more runs in the second, four in the third, five in the fourth and eight in the fifth. Slabaugh finished with two doubles among his four hits and scored four times Kuhn and Crousore had three hits and scored four runs each. Garcia had two singles, a sacrifice fly and drove in a pair of runs. “I was very pleased with the top of the lineup. You see guys who are consistently putting the ball in play, getting hits, hitting the ball hard,” Wawasee coach Brent Doty said. “That’s our focus right now. We want to put good swings on pitches that we can handle. “While the top of the lineup stood out, top-to-bottom we had good approaches at the plate all night.” Putting the ball in play was key to all the big innings. Bethany Christian committed eight errors, including four after two outs in an inning, that kept rallies going. Meanwhile, Garcia had a solid start on the mound. He pitched three innings, faced just 10 hitters and struck out five. “He’s a workhorse,” Doty said. “He really worked hard all through the fall and all through the winter, putting in time in the weight room. He’s quick to get ready, and he has a live arm early in the year. But he definitely puts in the work, and I thought he looked great tonight. He has a couple of things to clean up here and there, but looking at the stats, I think he threw only 10 pitches outside of the zone. “That’s what we need; someone who can pump strikes, especially with the new pitching stipulations. We need to have guys who come in, pound the strike zone, let the defense work, and I thought Jacob did a great job.” Wawasee hits the road again Thursday, traveling to Manchester for a non-conference game. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
